Rebels nearing Mountain West soccer title
has seen some improvement there as well.
In years past, if the Rebels fell behind, he said the team would get a bit deflated and self-doubt would creep in. This year, the team has been better at fighting back after giving up early goals or having a bad half.
“This group has changed that mentality. They do have a lot of fight and a lot of grit and a lot of determination,” Shaw said. “Regardless of whether things are going well or not, they’ve been able to battle back from adversity … we’re hoping that’s been a culture shift now, and that’ll be a hallmark of this team down the road.”
A prime example is senior Jordan Magnin’s Oct. 9 goal against New
■ Women’s golf: Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown, Boulder Creek Golf Club, through Tuesday
■ Volleyball: vs. San Jose State, Cox Pavilion, Thursday, 6 p.m.; at Fresno State, Fresno, California, Saturday, 3 p.m.
■ Cross country: at Mountain West Championships, Boise, Idaho, Friday, 10:45 a.m.
■ Women’s soccer: at UNR, Reno, Friday, 6:30 p.m. Mexico with three seconds left to cap a dramatic comeback victory. Magnin is one of 11 seniors, and that experience has aided the Rebels.
Lily Sender, also a senior, leads the Rebels — who already have shattered single-season goals and assists records — with a conference-best 11 goals and seven assists. Sender played in just one game two years ago and scored just one goal last year.
“I did a lot over the summer to prepare myself for this year,” Sender said. “It’s my last year, so I wanted to make the most of my opportunities. I never really got much of a chance to play in my previous years, so I knew coming in that this would be my year. This is my time to prove (myself).”
Sender said it’s not uncommon to find players on the field before the team’s early-morning practices, and she credits the motivation of the large senior class.
“We put in a lot of extra effort practicing and we put in extra effort during games, and I think that’s what’s helping us do better,” Sender said. “Because if you watch us on the field, we just play with so much more heart, I think, than previous years because it’s our last year for almost half of us on the team.” SOFTBALL
UNLV’s softball schedule was released Thursday, and it has the Rebels playing three teams that appeared in last year’s NCAA Tournament — Oregon State, Fresno State and Oregon.
The Rebels will begin play in February with five tournaments, including three in Las Vegas. In Mountain West play, UNLV will play host to New Mexico, Boise State, Fresno State and San Jose State while traveling to Utah State, UNR, Colorado State and San Diego State. MEN’S TENNIS
Senior Jakob Amilon will head to New York after winning the singles title without dropping a set at the 2016 ITA Mountain Region Men’s Tennis Championships on Sunday.
Seeded third and ranked 124th nationally, Amilon defeated ninth-seeded Kai Wehnelt of Utah State, 6-4, 6-3 to take home the regional singles title and advance to the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, Nov. 3-6 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center’s indoor facilities. Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand